DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Dunwoody Police officer is stable as he recovers at an area hospital after he was dragged during a traffic stop on Thursday.
At around 11:30 a.m., authorities confirmed that two officers pulled over a vehicle on Ashford Dunwoody Road at I-285 for a texting and driving violation. The driver fled and dragged one of the officers onto I-285.
“[The officer] was caught in that window, the driver’s side window, with his legs and body hanging out of the car,” Sgt. Robert Parsons said.
Sgt. Parsons said the driver turned onto the I-285 entrance ramp and began slamming the officer into other vehicles to try to dislodge him.
“Once the vehicle got onto 285, the vehicle was still swerving in and out of cars, and swerved into what appears to be a white van, sandwiching the officer between the car and the van," Parsons said. "That violent collision forced the officer off the car and the officer rolled down the interstate.”
Following another crash involving three vehicles, the suspect stopped near Roswell Road and a foot chase began.
The suspect was pursued and captured.
"Our officer is extremely lucky to be alive," Parsons said. "He could have been killed 5-6 different times."
No further information was released on the suspect and why he fled police. He was identified as a 35-year-old male from Decatur.
“We’re thankful none of those drivers were hurt, either, because it certainly could have ended badly for a lot of other people, as well,” Parsons said.
For nearly three hours, police remained on the scene of the incident and multiple lanes of traffic were blocked. At one point, as many as three lanes were closed. The Ashford Dunwoody ramp was also closed during the investigation.
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